FL Pastor Jailed For Refusing To Pay Peace Bond Protest
DEARBORN, Michigan (CBS4/AP) - A judge has ordered the jailing of a Central Florida pastor after he refused to pay a $1 peace bond over a planned demonstration outside a Michigan mosque.
Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, told jurors Friday in Dearborn, Michigan that he isn't responsible for what anyone else might do in response to his protest outside the Islamic Center of America. Jones is in Michigan to stage a Good Friday rally and protest outside of the center in Dearborn, a heavily Muslim city near Detroit. The center is the largest Mosque in Dearborn.
Jurors decided that due to his past actions, the rally had the potential to incite violence. As a result, the judge ruled Jones must pay $1 peace bond to ensure he would not breach the peace.
Jones refused, and was taken into custody.
Dearborn denied Jones a permit to protest outside the mosque and offered alternative sites. Jones has said he won't post bond and says he won't change the protest location.
Jones appeared in court earlier along with the Rev. Wayne Sapp, who burned a Koran last month in Florida under Jones' supervision, setting off violent protests in the Muslim world.
While Jones' anti-Muslim actions have drawn widespread condemnation, the ACLU of Michigan has defended his right to protest, saying the city of Dearborn is trying to deny Jones his constitutional rights.
